Seat assembly

ABSTRACT

A seat assembly ( 10 ) for a vehicle with a seat cushion ( 12 ), a seat back ( 14 ) connected to the seat cushion, a front link ( 22 ) having an upper end and a lower end, and a rear link ( 24 ) having an upper end and a lower end. The upper end of the front link is connected to the seat cushion for pivotal movement about a first axis ( 32 ), while the lower end of the front link is connected to the vehicle for pivotal movement about a second axis ( 50 ). The front link is further connected to either the seat cushion or the vehicle for sliding movement from a first position to a second position. The upper end of the rear link is connected to the seat cushion for pivotal movement about a third axis ( 34 ), while the lower end of the rear link is connected to the vehicle for pivotal movement about a fourth axis ( 30 ). The seat assembly may be transitioned from a first use position to a second use position by pivoting the seat cushion about the second axis and the fourth axis. The seat assembly may also be transitioned from the first use position to a stowed position by sliding the front link from the first position to the second position and by rotating the seat cushion about the third axis.

This Application claims the benefit of No. 60/116,018 filed Jan. 15,1999.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a folding vehicle seat and inparticular to a seat which can be folded to a stowed position and alsoto an upwardly and forwardly raised table position in which the seatback forms a table for use by adjacent seat occupants.

Vehicle manufacturers are continually striving to provide improvedconvenience features in motor vehicles. The folding seat of the presentinvention continues in this trend by providing a seat for a second orthird seating row in a sport utility vehicle or other vehicle. The seatis foldable to a stowed position in which the seat back forms a loadplatform for carrying cargo thereon. In addition, the seat can be foldedto a table position in which the seat back forms a generally horizontaltable surface that can be used by occupants seated to either side of thefolding seat. As such, the folding seat of the present invention isprimarily intended for use in the center portion of a bench scat or as acenter seat in a row of seats. The folding seat of the present inventioncan; however, be used in other locations in the vehicle if desired.

Briefly, the invention includes a seat assembly for a vehicle with aseat cushion, a seat back connected to the seat cushion, a front linkhaving an upper end and a lower end, and a rear link having an upper endand a lower end. The upper end of the front link is connected to theseat cushion for pivotal movement about a first axis, while the lowerend of the front link is connected to the vehicle for pivotal movementabout a second axis. The front link is further connected to either theseat cushion or the vehicle for sliding movement from a first positionto a second position. The upper end of the rear link is connected to theseat cushion for pivotal movement about a third axis, while the lowerend of the rear link is connected to the vehicle for pivotal movementabout a fourth axis. The seat assembly may be transitioned from a firstuse position to a second use position by pivoting the seat cushion aboutthe second axis and the fourth axis. The seat assembly may also betransitioned from the first use position to a stowed position by slidingthe front link from the first position to the second position and byrotating the seat cushion about the third axis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following discussion and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the folding seat according to a firstembodiment of the present invention, shown in a passenger use position;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the folding seat of FIG. 1, shown in a stowedposition;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the folding seat of FIG. 1, shown in a tableposition;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the folding seat according to a secondembodiment of the present invention, shown in a passenger use position;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the folding seat of FIG. 4, shown in a stoweduse position; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of the folding seat of FIG. 4, shown in a tumbleduse position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment is merelyexemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit the invention orits application or uses.

The folding seat according to the first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is shown in FIGS. 1-3 and designated generally at 10.The folding seat 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in a passenger use position. Thefolding seat 10 includes a generally horizontal seat cushion 12 and aseat back 14 which extends upwardly at the rear of the seat cushion 12.The folding seat 10 is shown mounted in a motor vehicle and attached tothe vehicle floor 16.

The seat cushion 12 includes a seat cushion frame 20 to which front andrear links 22, 24 are attached to mount the folding seat 10 to thevehicle floor 16. The lower end 26 of the front link 22 is coupled to amounting bracket 28 which is secured to the vehicle floor 16 by welds,bolts, rivets, etc. in a known manner. The rear link 24 is rotatablycoupled to the mounting bracket 28 by a pivot 30. The front link 22 ispivotally connected to the seat cushion frame 20 by a pivot 32 while theupper end of the rear link 24 is coupled to the seat cushion frame 20 bya pivot 34.

A riser 36 is fixed to the seat cushion frame 20 and extends upwardlytherefrom. The riser 36 defines a pivot aperture 38 which receives aseat back pivot 40 about which the seat back 14 rotates relative to theseat cushion 12. The seat back 14 includes a seat back frame 42 having adownwardly extending pivot arm 44, somewhat similar in construction to aseat back recliner sector. The pivot arm 44 extends downwardly below theseat back pivot 40 and is fixed against rotation by a locking cam 46 anda stop stud 48. The seat back 14 is released from the upright positionby rotation of the locking cam 46, freeing the pivot arm 44 to rotatecounterclockwise about the axis of the seat back pivot 40. The seat back14 rotates to a generally horizontal position overlying the seat cushion12 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

With reference to FIG. 2, the folding seat 10 is shown in the stowedposition. The folding seat 10 is moved to the stowed position byrotating the seat back 14 to a lowered position as described above. Inaddition, the front end of the seat cushion is lowered to enable theseat back 14 to reach a more horizontal orientation. The lower end 26 ofthe front link 22 has a pivot 50 which is slidable within a slot 52 inthe mounting bracket 28. A locking cam (not shown) similar to thelocking cam 46, is provided at the slot 52 to hold the pivot 50 at theupper rear end 54 of the slot 52. The pivot 50 is released to slidedownward and foreword through the slot 52, allowing the seat cushion 12to rotate about the pivot 34 at the rear link 24. This lowers the frontof the seat cushion 12. Folding of the seat to the stowed position isaccomplished without rotation of the rear link 24 about the pivot 30.

The rear link 24 is held in place about the pivot 30 by a lockingmechanism 56. The locking mechanism 56 includes a locking plate 58 whichis attached to the mounting bracket 28 by a fastener 60 and is attachedto the vehicle floor 16 at the foot 62. A pawl 64 is mounted to the rearlink 24 and includes a tooth 66. The tooth 66 is seated into a detent 68in the locking plate 58, to hold the rear link 24 in a fixed positionabout the pivot 30. A locking cam 70 mounted to the rear link holds thepawl 64 in firm engagement with the detent 68.

The locking mechanism 56 is releasable to enable the rear link 24 torotate about the pivot 30 to the table use position of the folding seat10 shown in FIG. 3. In the table use position, the rear link 24 islocked in place about the pivot 30 by the locking mechanism 56 with thepawl tooth seated into a second detent 72 in the locking plate 58. Inthe table use position, the lower end of the front link 22 remains atthe rear, upper end 54 of the slot 52. The front link rotatescounterclockwise to the table use position to raise the front end of theseat cushion 12 and move the seat cushion 12 forward. The rear link 24raises the rear end of the seat cushion to enable the seat back 14 to bedisposed at an approximately horizontal orientation whereby the rearsurface of the seat back can function as a table for passengers seatedon either side of the folding seat 10.

The folding seat 10 typically includes a pair of front links 22 and apair of rear links 24 with one pair of front and rear links disposed oneach side of the folding seat 10. While the folding seat 10 is shownmounted to a vehicle floor 16 containing a waterfall region, the foldingseat 10 is not limited to such a location in the vehicle. The foldingseat 10 can be located on a flat vehicle floor with equal results byappropriate modifications to the mounting bracket 28 and/or the frontand rear links 20, 24.

The folding seat according to the second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is shown in FIGS. 4-6 and designated generally at 10′.The folding seat 10′ of the second embodiment is similar to and sharesmany components with the folding seat 10 of the first embodiment. Forthis reason, the folding seat 10′ is shown in FIGS. 4-6 with manycomponents designated with the exact reference numbers as the componentsof FIGS. 1-3. These components, although not exactly the same, performthe same function in both embodiments. The other components, designatedwith the exact reference numbers and a prime (′), perform a similarfunction, but with important differences, which will be fully explainedbelow.

The folding seat 10′ of the second embodiment differs from the foldingseat 10 because of the location of the slot 52′ on the seat cushionframe 20′. The lower end 26′ of the front link 22′ is pivotallyconnected to the mounting bracket 28′ by a pivot 32′, while the upperend of the front link 22′ is slidably connected within the slot 52′ ofthe seat cushion frame 20′ at a pivot 50′. The pivot 50′ is released toslide upward and forward through the slot 52′, allowing the seat cushion12 to rotate about the pivot 34 at the rear link 24. This lowers thefront of the seat cushion 12. Folding of the folding seat 10′ to thestowed position is accomplished without rotation of the rear link 34about the pivot 30.

The locking mechanism 56 is releasable to enable the rear link 24 torotate about the pivot 30 to a tumbled use position of the folding seat10′, as shown in FIG. 6. In the tumbled use position, the upper end ofthe front link 22′ remains at the rear, lower end 54′ of the slot 52′.The rear link 24 raises the rear end of the seat cushion 20 to enablethe seat back 14 to be disposed in a forward direction whereby allowingingress and egress past the folding seat 10′.

The folding seat 10′ also differs from the folding seat 10 because ofthe modification of the mounting plate 28′ to incorporate a tooth 66.This modification allows for the deletion of the locking plate 58, whichprovides for a cleaner looking folding seat 10′ when pivoted into thetumbled use position.

As can be readily understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art,the folding seat 10 of the first preferred embodiment and the foldingseat 10′ of the second preferred embodiment are, for the most part,interchangeable at the discretion of the manufacturer.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exactconstruction illustrated and described above, but that various changesmay be made if not thereby departing from the scope of the invention asdefined in the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A seat assembly for a vehicle, comprising: a seat cushion; aseat back connected to said seat cushion; a front link having an upperend connected to said seat cushion for pivotal movement about a firstaxis, and a lower end connected to the vehicle for pivotal movementabout a second axis, said front link being further connected to one ofsaid seat cushion and the vehicle for sliding movement from a firstposition to a second position; and a rear link having an upper endconnected to said seat cushion for pivotal movement about a third axis,and a lower end connectable to the vehicle for pivotal movement about afourth axis; such that said seat assembly may be transitioned from afirst use position to a second use position by pivoting said seatcushion about said second axis and said fourth axis, and to a stowedposition by sliding said front link from the first position to thesecond position and by rotating said seat cushion about said third axis.2. The seat assembly of claim 1 wherein said first axis is displaced ina downward direction during the transition of said seat assembly fromthe first use position to the stowed position.
 3. The seat assembly ofclaim 1 wherein said third axis remains stationary during the transitionof said seat assembly from the first use position to the stowedposition.
 4. The seat assembly of claim 1 wherein said first axis andsaid third axis are displaced in a forward direction during thetransition of said seat assembly from the first use position to thesecond use position.
 5. The seat assembly of claim 1 wherein said frontlink is connected to the vehicle for sliding movement, and wherein saidseat back is connected to said seat cushion for pivotal movement from anupright position to a generally horizontal position such that said seatback forms a table surface in the second use position.
 6. The seatassembly of claim 5 wherein said first axis and said third axis are alsodisplaced in an upward direction during the transition of said seatassembly from the first use position to the second use position.
 7. Theseat assembly of claim 5 wherein said second axis is displaced in aforward direction relative to the vehicle during the transition of saidseat assembly from the first use position to the stowed position.
 8. Theseat assembly of claim 7 wherein said second axis is also displaced in adownward direction relative to the vehicle during the transition of saidseat assembly from the first use position to the stowed position.
 9. Theseat assembly of claim 1 wherein said front link is connected to saidseat cushion for sliding movement, and wherein said seat back moves intoa tumbled position in said second use position to allow ingress andegress past said seat assembly.
 10. The seat assembly of claim 9 whereinsaid first axis is also displaced in a downward direction and said thirdaxis is also displaced in an upward direction during the transition ofsaid seat assembly from the first use position to the second useposition.
 11. The seat assembly of claim 9 wherein said first axis isdisplaced in an upward direction relative to said seat cushion duringthe transition of said seat assembly from the first use position to thesecond use position.
 12. The seat assembly of claim 11 wherein saidfirst axis is also displaced in a forward direction relative to saidseat cushion during the transition of said seat assembly from the firstuse position to the second use position.
 13. The seat assembly of claim1 further comprising a mounting bracket fastenable to the vehicle,wherein said lower end of said front link is connected to said mountingbracket for pivotal movement, and said lower end of said rear link isconnected to said mounting bracket for pivotal movement.
 14. The seatassembly of claim 13 wherein said front link is further connected tosaid mounting bracket for sliding movement.
 15. The seat assembly ofclaim 14 wherein said mounting bracket defines a slot, said lower end ofsaid front link includes a pin, and said pin of said front link isconnected to said slot of said mounting bracket for sliding movement.16. The seat assembly of claim 13 wherein said front link is connectedto said seat cushion for sliding movement.
 17. The seat assembly ofclaim 16 wherein said seat cushion defines a slot, said upper end ofsaid front link includes a pin, and said pin of said front link isconnected to said slot of said seat cushion for sliding movement.